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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Image by joedawson via FlickrFollowing on from the earlier snow, we were awake early the following morning to confront the weather conditions and travel down to London for the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project. Waiting in the cold for the Megabus was a beautiful experience. I couldn't feel my feet by the time the coach arrived! For the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, fourteen cities were selected, paired together and swapped nights out, taking the best of their local artists, events, clubs and attitudes, then exporting them to their partner city. The journey had it's share of drama, the driver was reluctant to drive in the snow and the grit affected the windscreen visibility which caused delays as we stopped several times. Eventually arriving at Victoria, we were greeted by no trains heading to our desired station and had to seek an alternative route home. After a cold shower, we were on the DLR and heading back to London.

The destination was the Troxy, which according to the website is London's most versatile venue. Once inside, away from the cold, we were each handed an electronic wristband, offering the ability to check-in to Facebook at various access points, and five hundred Smirnoff dollars courtesy of the United States of Smirnoff. The legal tender for the night entitling us to several promotional offers available, courtesy of the vodka brand. Tinie Tempah greeted our ears as we entered the main area and we wished he hadn't because he sounded terrible. Having seen him several times this year and been impressed, this wasn't one of his finer performances. Zane Lowe was the next act on stage and he really set the tempo with his fast paced DJ set! N.E.R.D had earlier cancelled, replaced by Example, riding on the back of a successful year but not in the same league as Pharrell Williams and company. He was solid but the set was too short, credit to him for stepping in at late notice! By this point we had managed to acquire Miami themed hats, sunglasses, personalised flipbook's and several cocktails. Jaguar Skills then emerged from the Smirnoff shipping crate, famously known for playing the character of a ninja. During his live shows he is dressed as a ninja with a full ninja mask so that only his eyes. A great finale, and we managed to secure a promotional beach ball so plenty to return to Leeds and brag about from the experience.